Ista was the fifth Weyr opened and it is named after the Island it is on. The name 'Ista' is an acronym for the four families of colonists who settled the island and is in the tropical zone of Pern. One of the children of Joel Lilienkamp helped establish the Weyr in the forty-second turn. The names of the four founders were Akmai Ishima, Georgiou Savros, Ramla Tamalaki and Joel Aldridge.

Situated on the bay at the southwest corner of Ista Island, the black half-volcano pushes four fingers and a thumb into the tropical sky. The mountain was formed by an eruption that knocked the bay half of the volcano into the sea, the constant waves forming a plateau. Ista Weyr is the smallest Weyr on Pern, able to house about 250 rider pairs at full strength. Because of the Bowl's narrow size, additional Weyrs are found on the southern side of the outer Bowl wall. These 'forest weyrs' house about a quarter of Ista's dragon population. For such a small Weyr, Ista has a dizzying amount of tunnels that double back and run into one another. Underground streams supply the Weyr with fresh water, and seeing as Ista is a volcano, albeit a dormant one, there are even hot springs for relaxation.

Not really a technological Weyr, Ista never caught on with that fad, though they do use radios to keep in touch with the different holds throughout the area. Seemingly too laid back in the sun to bother, Ista has made do with a more traditional lifestyle.

Date: Event/News
08/19/12 The alarm toll of Ista Weyr's dolphin bell alerted search and rescue riders to the attack on a merchant vessel by a small schooner, which shipfish had spotted acting suspiciously in the bay. Dolphineers and riders rushed to save the sinking vessel, but were themselves brought under attack by crossbow bolt, resulting in several injured, and the attacking ship itself disappearing into the storm-darkened evening. Despite the weyrleader himself leading out firestone-armed sweeps, no sign of the schooner could be found - nor was there any sign of those dolphins who didn't return after the encounter. Both Sapphire Wing and Ista's guard have been put on high alert, and nearby holds are rumored to be arming themselves and their boats.
08/13/12 Discussions with Ista Hold continue, and until the missing tithe investigation concludes, Pearl Wing's transport riders will be sent to pick up cargo from the hold itself, as well as having a few riders posted as a precaution. Despite the extra workload, wingleader B'ky has been seen organizing additional drills for his wingriders, oddly enough, in conjunction with some of the weyr guard.
07/29/12 Eulweth's clutch of ten hatches, and another generation of Istan weyrlings take up residence in the barracks.
07/24/12 In the wake of Turnover celebrations, an arriving tithe shipment from Ista Hold is found to be mostly missing from the ship that brought it, with evidence suggesting some sort of foul play. A makeshift drydock was created and an investigation begun, with rumors that Ista Hold's blood heir might be arriving soon to sort out the situation.
07/24/12 A Turnover gather is held at the weyr, with craft booths and fireworks!
07/12/12 The heatwave finally breaks - with a bang! An out-of-season hurricane sweeps past Ista, leaving some storm damage and a lot of relieved Istans, as the cooler air coming south from Igen sends winter temperatures down to more or less normal.
07/01/12 Eulweth takes to the sands, and a clutch of 10 eggs now hardens in the hatching cavern.
06/28/12 Weyrwoman Cenlia knots bronzerider T'eo as Weyrsecond, in order to facilitate the search for the identity of the sunken ship from which all the mystery wreckage washing ashore belonged. However, even with S&R working in concert with the Seacraft, the new Istan coastguard, and numerous dolphineers, no clue to the vessel's identity or purpose could be determined.
06/18/12 An unseasonal heatwave sends temperatures soaring, with many visitors and even a few residents being sent to the infirmary with sunsickness and dehydration. In response, the weyrwoman orders barrels of ice to be set out along the beach and plateau, along with bottles of chilled water. The easing humidity but not heat means more ice is flown in from High Reaches, and a small ice festival is held, with the the indoor pool even being filled with ice at some point.
06/16/12 Gold Eulweth rises and is caught by the weyrleader's bronze Malphath.
06/13/12 Nziekilth's hatchlings graduate in fine (and very blue) style and are tapped into wings, most going unsurprisingly into Pearl.
06/12/12 The Weyrwoman, Weyrleader, and a Dolphineer volunteer named Jeyinshi were amongst just some of the search party that ventured into the jungle of the island closest to where the mystery wreckage had been discovered. After searching for several hours, and confirming that the already-documented landlocked shipwreck was indeed still intact, and not the cause of the floating debris, the party returned home empty-handed. The source of the wreckage remains a mystery.
04/18/12 A floating party, which started as a small celebration between a few friends and grew to include an entire sailboat fleet, was interrupted not by the impromptu fireworks setting one of the yachts ablaze (though apparently this happened too), but by the presence of floating wreckage which, it turns out, didn't belong to any of the vessels that had set out from Ista that day - or that sevenday even. Weyrleader P'rel, present on the vessel Serenity, worked with several others to collect what they could and returned the pieces to Ista. They were then sorted and cataloged per the Weyrwoman's orders.
03/26/12 The weyrlings from Eulweth's last clutch graduate and are tapped into wings.
03/08/12 Nziekilth's clutch of ten hatches all blues! Much to the surprise of those who'd bet on colors.
01/30/12 Nziekilth clutches amidst Turnover celebrations, dragonhealers' best estimates placing the egg-count at ten total before the gold partially buried them to hide from prying eyes. As is usual, when the senior is on the sands, guards have been posted to the galleries to keep the curious from bothering the ornery gold (and some say, her oddly moody and plump lifemate).
01/13/12 Both senior gold Nziekilth and junior Keonath begin to glow, their riders missing. An emergency search was launched to find them and return them to the weyr, ending in both women having a stand-off with Tiger's Eye and the weyrleader - Cenlia being brought back via Ittisieth's teeth and both Jaziera and S'gam unconscious. Not long after, Nziekilth rose, only to be caught by P'rel's Malphath, confirming the young bronzerider as Ista's new weyrleader.
01/07/12 Junior gold Eulweth's clutch of five hatches.